Superstition
by twisted-coil
Summary: A challenge, issued by Stoneygem. Clarisse wears pearls for her wedding...this is bad luck. What happens when she realises? Just a sweet oneshot. C&J, ovviamente! Please review! o


Five hours, fourteen minutes, and, oh, about twenty seconds. Not that she was counting. As his strong arms tightened almost imperceptibly around her, sweeping her into another turn, Clarisse felt her eyes beginning to slide shut. Still she couldn't quite take in the events of the day, the lightening decision on her part, the pride in his eyes as they had stood before the altar. Still it all seemed a little too unreal to be tangible. And yet, here he was, holding her close and whispering softly into her ear.

"Sweetheart…are you okay? You seem a million miles away…"

She smiled, leaning into his embrace a little more, grazing his cheek with her nose,

"I'm fine, still just a little in shock…"

He chuckled softly, and dropped a quick kiss to her forehead, amused as she still tensed a little in his arms.

"It's ok…no one is looking now."

She blushed, embarrassed that he had noticed her hesitation, and quickly nodded her agreement before laying her head down gently on his shoulder. His arm moved to encircle her shoulders, his thumb caressing the nape of her neck, teasing the strings of pearls…

She suddenly tensed, so much so that he drew back a little, thinking he must have hurt her. Pearls. She looked up at him, and smiled quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly? Laying her head back on his shoulder she tried to snuggle back in, to ignore the thought now niggling at the back of her mind. She was not a superstitious woman…it meant nothing. That would just be stupid.

As they continued to drift slowly around the reasonably crowded ballroom, Clarisse began trying to relax again. She knew that she was on edge – God, how could she not be? – and it was nothing. Everything was perfect.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Mia approaching, and pulling back slightly from Joseph's embrace, she smiled warmly at her granddaughter.

"Mia…darling, are you enjoying yourself?"

Still a little too far away to reply without raising her voice, Mia stepped a little closer, managing, in somewhat typical style, to collide with one of the waiters who was carrying the flutes of champagne high aloft his head. As the poor man came crashing down, so too did the glasses, several of them quite spectacularly drenching the back of Joseph's suit.

"What the…?"

He turned quickly, managing to control his tongue, and then laughed at the scene. Mia was fine, a guilty smirk plastered on her face, and the poor waiter seemed to be unable to get up, seized as he was by a fit of giggles.

Clarisse tried to smile, really she did, and yet her fingers couldn't help but twist through the pearls on her neck. Of course it was a coincidence, she was just being stupid… Brushing her hand over the back of Joseph's now damp jacket, she shook her head in mock amusement.

"You're going to have to take that off, you know…it should be cleaned right away, otherwise it will ruin."

He smiled at her concern and, sneaking another quick kiss to her forehead, winked and flamboyantly swung off the jacket, handing it to the nearest member of staff. Mia giggled and announced that she was going to call it a night.

"Really?"

Clarisse could hardly keep the surprise from her voice.

"Yeah, I'm really tired…it's been a long day, Grandma. But you guys have fun….see you tomorrow…sometime."

She drew out the pause before that last word deliberately and was pleased to receive the response she had expected: a shocked, and yet distinctly knowing glare from Clarisse, and a barely contained smirk from Joe.

* * *

They continued to dance for another half hour, Joe now in his shirt, and Clarisse in her flowing blue evening gown. The music wafted soothingly around them and, truth be told, they were entirely oblivious to anyone else in the huge palace ballroom. Clarisse was now resting contentedly on Joseph's shoulder, her hand casually stroking his chest as they circled the floor. All thoughts of her silly superstitious panic from earlier were long forgotten.

All of a sudden, there was a huge crack of thunder and the lights went out. Unconsciously, Clarisse tightened her grip on her husband. The orchestra had stopped playing, and, the darkness almost total, the room was momentarily plunged into near silence.

"Joseph?"

He smiled, knowing how afraid she was of the dark, and pulled her into a big hug, his own body not a little thankful for the sudden privacy and the opportunity to hold her against him.

"It's ok darling…just a power cut. Do you want me to go and see what's happened?"

Before she could reply, there was another fierce crack of lightening, and several of the more tipsy ladies present screamed out loud. Joe sighed, and, kissing his wife tenderly on the cheek, he moved towards the main doors of the ballroom, where he knew Shades would be waiting with a radio.

* * *

The darkness around her was near total. As the various people around her began to look for each other, she found herself drawing closer to the large windows that, in the daytime at least, afforded a beautiful view out over the rose gardens. Now it was all blackness. She shuddered a little, wrapping her arms around her, and wished that Joseph hadn't left. Still there were no candles, and, in spite of her better judgment, she was beginning to panic. The rain was now beating down furiously against the glass, and she couldn't even make out the moon, the clouds were that dark. Someone brushed up against her accidentally, and then moved away, not knowing who she was.

The nervous twinge in her throat, the one she always got when she felt on edge, was back with a vengeance. She coughed a little, but it didn't seem to help. Bringing her hand up to her throat, to massage the skin a little, her fingers one again found the pearls. The pearls. She closed her eyes and willed herself to pull things together. There was another crack of lightening, closer this time, and she felt the tears begin to slip down her cheeks. Stupid damn pearls. It was all her fault. Just as it had always been.

She had learnt the tradition as a girl – the woman who wears pearls on her wedding day is sure to cry. They brought bad luck to the union, a curse that would stain everything. Spreading her fingers out across the cool glass of the window, Clarisse realised that her hands were shaking. It was all too much. She was tired, exhausted actually, and she couldn't take this right now. She had to see him. There was another threatening rumble of thunder and she shivered. But how could she tell him this? After all they had been through…to ruin it all over something so stupid.

All she knew was that she had to get out of this room, out of the darkness. Moving towards the heavy doors of the ballroom, she slipped slightly, maybe on the remains of Mia's little escapade, it was too dark to tell. She managed to steady herself in time, though, keeping her balance. The heel of her right shoe was less fortunate, and the expensive crunch seemed to echo in her ears. She swallowed hard, determined not to break down here. Reaching down to her shoes, she unbuckled both of them, and abandoned them in the middle of the floor. No one noticed her leave the pitch black room, no one heard her padding softly down the corridors in the direction of her suite.

* * *

As the lights came back on in the ballroom, the emergency generator having been rather unceremoniously kicked into action, Joseph scanned the ballroom. To his disappointment, however, she had vanished. Turning to Shades, trying desperately not to sound concerned, he lowered his voice,

"Any idea where Clarisse has run away to?"

Shades looked up and scanned the room himself, not a little embarrassed that, on his first day in the job, the Queen had already managed to give him the slip. He knew that she was tricky, but honestly, this was ridiculous!

"Uh…no, Joe, I'm sorry…I…wait a minute…there's a pair of shoes over there, might they be hers?"

Joe looked across and sighed, trying not to sound concerned,

"Jesus, only six hours, and already she's playing Cinderella on me…"

Shades laughed, and patted the older man on the back. Joe simply shook his head and, moving over to gather up the shoes and then returning back to the door, grinned at his friend,

"Well, at least she can't have got far…"

And with that he moved off in the direction of the private wing.

* * *

The emergency generators, for some strange reason or other, only powered the main corridors of the palace and the few rooms that were regularly used for public events. As he made his way towards Clarisse's rooms, Joe began to wonder exactly what she was playing at running away like this. He shouldn't have left her like that in the dark, he knew how much she hated it…but he had wanted to sort everything out quickly. His mind was whirring, regretting now the few glasses of champagne that he had enjoyed earlier in the evening, and, to be honest, he was worried.

Pushing open the door to her office, Joe stepped inside. As he had already anticipated, the room was flooded with darkness, save a single candelabra on the desk by the balcony doors. There was a gust of wind and the glass rattled a little against the door frame.

"Clarisse?"

Silence. Stepping further into the room, he was struck by how cold everything was. There was a rumble of thunder and he suddenly realised that the balcony doors were slightly ajar. He moved quickly in their direction, and looked out.

She was standing on the balcony, the rain streaming down, soaking through the delicate silk of her dress, a large glass of what looked like brandy set on the ledge beside her, untouched. Noiselessly, he eased open the door and stepped out.

The rain was ice cold against his bare skin, and within seconds his shirt was drenched. Not turning to look at him, she bowed her head a little and wrapped her arms around herself,

"I'm sorry, Joseph…I, I….I'm sorry."

Petrified as to what might have made her say such a thing, he reached out and wrapped both arms tightly around her from behind, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder. She was shaking almost uncontrollably, and was thoroughly chilled. Pressing a kiss to her neck, he closed his eyes,

"I though we had agreed long ago, my love, no apologising…now tell me, what's wrong?"

His voice was remarkably calm given the circumstances, and she found herself shaking even more,

"Everything…it's all wrong….and…"

He held her tighter, pleased at least that she wasn't pushing him away, and continued,

"And?"

Her voice was small and trembling,

"And it's all my fault."

Turning her carefully to face him, he took her face in his palms and kissed her nose, never taking his eyes from hers.

"And do tell me, darling, what exactly have you done that's so bad?"

The rain was still beating down on them, but he wouldn't draw her inside against her will. Even though she tried to look away, he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

She was still shaking, and, as she laid her head gently, cautiously against his chest, he could barely make out her words above the clatter of the rain on the tiles above them,

"I wore pearls…"

But he did though, and, as much as the present situation was far from funny, he had trouble suppressing a giggle of nervous relief.

"You wore pearls?"

She looked up at him, leaning into his hand a little as he wiped the moisture away,

"Yes…and it's desperately bad luck…and now everything's going wrong, and it will keep going wrong and, and…and I've ruined the whole evening…"

He smiled, kissing her forehead before laying her back against his shoulder.

"Um, darling…what exactly has gone wrong? I mean, as far as I'm concerned, I'm standing on a balcony with the most beautiful woman in the world, holding her in my arms, knowing she's my wife. I admit, a peaceful moonlit evening would perhaps have been more conducive to romance, but if this is the benefit, I don't might being soaked to the skin…"

She looked up, the tears still heavy in her eyes, her throat still sore from crying so much before he had arrived, and she realised how stupid she had been. Breathing deeply, trying to calm herself, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"I…well, everything…the champagne, the power cut, the storm, my shoes…" She stopped, realising the ridiculousness of what she was saying. "I…"

She stopped again, as he kissed her deliberately on the lips, his hands coming to run through her dripping hair, pressing her to him.

As they broke apart, she tried again, and he pressed his index finger to her lips,

"Now…madam…not another word from you. As far as I'm concerned, you've executed the perfect plan to escape the party downstairs, whether it be pearl-induced, or natural Clarisse-cunning, and I plan to make full use of it."

She smiled, his arm guiding her back into the office and closing the door firmly behind them.

"How did you know I'd be in there, Joseph?"

He chuckled, running his hand playfully through her now rather spiky hair,

"Darling…you're always in there!"

She blushed, and he took her hand in his and led her down the corridor to her, no, _their_ suite. As he pushed the main door open, he was pleased to note that one of the maids had been busy with the candles and matches. Kicking off his shoes and discarding his tie on the couch, he turned his attention to his new wife,

"Right…well, your Majesty, first things first, we need to get out of these wet clothes…"

* * *

Afterwards, as she lay sleeping contentedly in his arms, he couldn't help but smile. She was so adorable. Perhaps he should have seen this evening's little fiasco coming? She had been so very tired by the day's events and, with the drinks she had been given, it was hardly surprising that she had panicked like that. This was all still so new…not their love, but this situation, this, well…publicity. She was nervous, that he could tell – hell, so was he – but they would cope.

Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, he realised that it was nearly after three, and that he had been watching her for the past hour and a half. Sighing contentedly, he decided that a concerted effort to sleep was in order. Glancing back at the table though, his eyes were caught by the shiny cufflinks twinkling back at him in the dim light of the single candle left illuminated. He looked back at Clarisse. She was fast asleep. Picking the exquisite pearl cufflinks up, he slipped them silently into his pyjama pocket and resolved to have them put away somewhere in the morning.

After all, there was no use in tempting fate…

A/N Hope you liked - please let me know :o) nic.xx


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